Oz

The wind howled through the fields, shaking the roof of Marianne’s Kansas home. It was times like this – when the warm air met the cold and left the atmosphere shaking – that Marianne wondered why her family hadn’t packed up and moved to California a long time ago.

The farmland they once owned was replaced with subdivisions and a preschool. There was nothing keeping them in Kansas anymore, but still her parents refused. They wanted her and her brother to graduate from the high school they’d started in, and with just one year left, Louis didn’t do much complaining, even though Marianne had.

“Mare,” Louis called, from his room across from hers. “I’m gonna go grab some supplies out of the shed in case the power goes out. Come with?”

Though he couldn’t see, Marianne nodded her head quickly and jumped from her bed. She’d do anything to get out of her boring room, even if it was only stepping outside for a few brief moments. It was better than nothing.

Popping her head into Louis’s room, she smiled at him. “Let’s go then.”

He chuckled, rolling his eyes, before following his sister as she all but ran out of their home. Marianne had always loved being outside when it stormed, and even though it was only just beginning, he knew she was dying to see what would become of it. If their mother would let her, she’d sit on the back porch and watch the whole thing, but of course that was against the rules, so she had to settle for hopping outside with Louis for a few quick minutes.

Wind blew through Marianne’s dark hair, taking it away like she wished it would take herself. She held her arms out, twirling around as the air washed over here.

“Do you think if I were light enough the wind would just carry me to Cali?”

Rolling his eyes, Louis chuckled at her, still making his way towards the shed. “I don’t know, Mare. Why don’t you chop off a couple of your limbs and find out?”

“Not funny, Lou,” she called back to him, before making her way over to their small swing set. Her mother had wanted to get rid of the rusty old thing long ago, but Marianne refused to let her. If she couldn’t have California, she could, at the very least, have her swing set, and that was the argument Marianne had made.

Her fingers pressed against the rusted metal of the chains, rolling down it until they met the weathered, plastic seat. It had cracks and the color had faded. She wasn’t sure if it would crack underneath her, but she didn’t give it much thought, and dropped lazily onto it.

Immediately picking up her feet, she swung her legs back and forth, until she had enough momentum to keep her going for a few moments. She shut her eyes tightly, leaning her head back so her long hair nearly reached the ground.

With her eyes closed, it was like she wasn’t in Kansas anymore. She could feel the warmth of the California sun beating down on her and the wind had stopped completely.

“Mare, get inside,” Louis called, his voice sounding shakier than she’d remembered it. “Get inside now.”

Popping her eyes open, she turned to her brother, who had a first aid kit and several flashlights in his hands. His eyes were wide, but the rest of his face was blank. She followed his gaze, which went past her and off in the distance.

Her breath fell from her lungs, as her eyes laid sight on what had caused Louis to freeze. On the other side of the field, just past the subdivision that had been built a few years prior, the wind had begun to stir, a large funnel dropping from the sky. It reached the ground, sucking up the homes in the distance.

Marianne could have sworn she heard screaming, but it was covered up by the whistling of the tornado which was rolling towards them.

Before she had a chance to process what was happening, Louis latched onto her hand, pulling her from the swing and into their home. Their parents were at work, so it was just the two of them, but luckily their parents were a worrisome pair, and they’d had countless drills on what to do during a tornado.

Louis led Marianne to their cellar, which had been built with the home over two hundred years ago. The two ran immediately to the corner, where their parents kept a pair of mattresses, which they were supposed to lie on top of themselves to keep any debris from hitting them.

Like soldiers, they followed the drills down to a tee, doing exactly as their parents had told them. They dropped to the floor, pulling the mattresses over them and their hands over the heads.

Marianne could feel herself shaking and wondered if her brother was doing the same. They had been alive for a countless number of Kansas’s famous tornadoes, but there had never been one headed straight for them, and it appeared as though this one was.

All at once, Marianne felt the air sucked from around her, with a loud popping and whistling fill her ears. It pulled all the life from around them, leaving only turmoil and destruction in its place.

A crashing came from above them and Louis reached over, taking Marianne’s hand in his. He squeezed it tightly, as their house collapsed around them. The roof pulled from its foundation, while the floorboards flew straight to the air.

Marianne sucked in a deep breath, as she felt her entire home ripped to pieces around them. She wanted to open her eyes to see the destruction, but knew there could be debris floating everywhere, which could easily blind her.

A shifting took place, and it felt as though the cellar had been picked straight off the ground. Everything was moving, rolling back and forth, and as impossible as it seemed, Marianne couldn’t deny that they’d been lifted.

“Louis!” Marianne screamed, barely heard over the roar of the wind.

“Keep your eyes closed, Mare!” Louis shouted back. “And don’t let go of my hand.”

The wind whipped around them, spinning them wildly, and the mattresses were quickly pulled from above them. With nothing protecting them, bits of wood and other things, slapped against Marianne Louis, just big enough to be noticed but too small to do much harm.

The floor shifted, titling to the left, and it became even more clear that they were no longer on the ground. They were sliding across the wood, and Marianne wondered if they’d fall off. She tried to grip the floor, but there was nothing to hold onto except for Louis’s hand. She heard him groaning next to her, as he struggled to hold onto the wooden panels.

The wind gave one final howl, so loud that Marianne thought it was going to pop her eardrums, before tossing them to the ground as carelessly as the wind does. They spun around over and over, causing Marianne to grow dizzy, before they landed with a thud against the earth. They landed so quickly and with so much force that it sent Louis and Marianne bouncing into the air, only to crash back to the ground with a groan.

Pain ripped through Marianne’s body, as she clutched to her back, which had succumb to the pressure. She knew she hadn’t sustained a real injury, but it was bruised, and she only hoped that Louis was as lucky.

Popping her eyes open, Marianne looked towards her brother, who appeared to be in even better shape than she was. His eyes were wide, like they’d been when he first saw the tornado, but for a few moments she was too concerned with their health to see what he was staring at.

When she followed his gaze, to just a few feet in front of them, she let out a gasp.

In front of them was a castle straight out of a fairy tale. The sunlight lit it up, causing it to sparkle like a rich emerald, and everything around it, even though it was beautiful, paled in comparison to the wonder before them.

“Louis,” Marianne whispered, her voice shaky. “Where are we?”

Before he had a chance to answer, they were surrounded by people, all dressed in funny looking clothes. Their eyes were wide, as they stared down at the strangers in front of them.

A tall man stepped forward, a large beard covering his face. Marianne didn’t know why, but he terrified her, and the moment he spoke, she knew it was for good reason.

His voice boomed through the crowd, silencing all the whispers. Looking down at Marianne and Louis, his eyes grew tight, and he pulled something out of his pocket.

He held the metal in front of him, the soft surface catching in the light, and for the first time, Marianne realized it was handcuffs that he carried.

When he spoke, it caused Marianne’s blood to run cold.

“Lock them up!”